Tang San's Shock! An Elder Brother Is Like a Father! Wildfire Cannot Burn It All; the Spring Wind Brings It Back!

He used no Martial Soul and released no Soul Skill.

He merely extended his index and middle fingers.

Snap.

A soft crack rang out.

Zhu Zhuqing's claws, charged with Soul Power and sharp enough to tear through rock, were caught firmly between Tang Yuan's two fingers.

No matter how hard she strained, her hand might as well have been welded into an iron vise. She could neither advance an inch nor pull free.

Air surged outward from the sudden stop, stirring Tang Yuan's long hair.

But he stood as steady as Mount Tai.

"Your speed is passable."

Tang Yuan looked at Zhu Zhuqing, whose face was flushed red just inches away, and gave his assessment.

"Among your peers, your explosive power is fairly good."

"But your movements are too predictable."

Tang Yuan applied a little pressure with his fingers and pushed her claws aside.

"A straight-line charge is fast, but it's also the easiest to anticipate.

Your change of direction was sudden, but to a true expert, the way your muscles tensed had already betrayed your intent."

"Without variation, you're walking straight into a dead end."

With that, Tang Yuan did not withdraw his fingers. He followed through and lightly touched Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder.

He used no force.

Yet a gentle surge of Soul Power, vast as the sea, poured through his fingertip and into Zhu Zhuqing's body.

That power was utterly domineering. Before Zhu Zhuqing could react, it sealed the pathways through which her Soul Power flowed.

"Mm..."

Zhu Zhuqing felt her entire body go numb. Her taut muscles slipped beyond her control.

It was as though someone had cut the strings of a puppet.

Thud.

Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead.

Though she could not move, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes shone with startling intensity.

She had lost.

Utterly and completely.

But because her defeat had been so decisive, she could finally see the gulf between herself and a true powerhouse.

No Martial Soul. No Soul Skill. With nothing but physical strength and command of the fight, he had subdued a Soul Grandmaster in an instant.

Was this the Blue Silver King's strength?

Sitting on the ground, Zhu Zhuqing looked up at the man standing with his hands behind his back. The trace of fear in her heart gradually gave way to fervor.

Back in the Star Luo Empire, no one had taught her any of this.

Her teachers had only made her train through brute effort and fight without end.

Yet with a single sentence and a single move, Tang Yuan had shown her where she had been stuck all along.

Perhaps...

Being abandoned by her family and following this man wouldn't be such a bad outcome.

It might even be an opportunity.

Tang Yuan paid Zhu Zhuqing no further attention. He turned toward Tang San, who stood nearby.

"Did you see that clearly?"

Tang San nodded at once, his expression solemn.

"I did, Teacher."

"And I don't just mean the moves."

Tang Yuan walked up to Tang San and patted his shoulder.

"Xiao San, you're gifted. More gifted than many others."

"But you have one fatal weakness."

Tang San looked up, puzzled.

"A weakness?"

"Your heart is too soft."

Tang Yuan's voice was quiet, but every word struck home, pounding against Tang San's heart like a heavy hammer.

"That day at the Great Soul Arena, you had the chance to cripple Dai Mubai's limbs and make sure he could never rise again."

"But you held back in the end."

"Did you think that was knowing when to stop? That it made you magnanimous?"

Tang Yuan shook his head, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"That was stupidity."

"When it comes to enemies—to those who want to hurt you, or who have already become a threat to you—"

"There's only one rule."

Tang Yuan raised a hand and made a chopping motion through the air.

"Cut the weeds down to their roots."

"Leave the roots behind, and the spring wind will bring them back."

"You spare him today and think it's a gift. Tomorrow, once he recovers, he'll bring someone stronger to kill you, your family, and your friends."

"Then your magnanimity will become the poison that kills the people beside you."

"When you see injustice on the road, drawing your blade to help is chivalry."

"But if someone stands in your way, kill until he no longer dares to block it. Kill until he regrets ever coming into this world."

"That is the way to survive."

The Martial Arts Arena fell deathly silent.

Tang San stared blankly at Tang Yuan.

Having grown up with the orthodox teachings of the Tang Sect, where one always left an enemy a way out, he found those words profoundly shocking.

But...

If I'd seen through that useless Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang sooner, I wouldn't have taken so many wrong turns.

Tang Yuan is right.

In this world, the weak have always been prey to the strong.

The confusion in Tang San's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a resolve he had never felt before.

He drew a deep breath and bowed low to Tang Yuan.

"Teacher, I'll remember."

"Leave the roots behind, and the spring wind will bring them back."

Tang San turned those words over and over in his mind. Each one felt like a carving knife cutting into his bones.

"I'll never make that mistake again."

"I want to be like you, Teacher. I want to control the fight and strike fear into my enemies."

Seeing the growing sharpness in Tang San's eyes, Tang Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

The boy can be taught.

Once I've set his heart on a different path, his Tang Sect Hidden Weapons and Twin Martial Souls will make him a fine blade in the future.

Just then, a crisp notification sounded in Tang Yuan's mind.

[Ding! You have taught the main-story character Tang San to change his outlook. Mission progress has increased significantly.]

[Reward obtained: Immortal and Undying, Regenerate Soul Bone.]

A warm current surged into Tang Yuan's body and gathered at his spine.

The feeling of vitality and strength made every pore in his body open.

The night was black as ink.

The rear courtyard of the Blue Silver King's Mansion was quiet, disturbed only by the occasional chirp of insects.

Inside the west wing.

Zhu Zhuqing still wore the clothes she had worn that day. She sat at the table, lost in thought.

The tea on the table had gone completely cold, but she had not taken a sip.

Scenes from the Martial Arts Arena kept replaying in her mind.

Tang Yuan's two fingers, moving as though it were nothing.

And those words: "Leave the roots behind, and the spring wind will bring them back."

Though he had said them to Tang San, they had struck Zhu Zhuqing like a thunderclap.

Ruthless.

But true.

Among the Star Luo Imperial Family, she had seen plenty of scheming and kin turning on kin.

Only she had still been foolish enough to dream of familial affection, to imagine Dai Mubai might lead her out of her misery.

Only now did she truly understand.

If she wanted to survive, if she did not want to be trampled underfoot, she had to be more ruthless and stronger than everyone else.

Just as Zhu Zhuqing's thoughts tangled together and her gaze grew distant—

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Before Zhu Zhuqing could react, it swung open.

A tall figure walked in.

By the candlelight, Zhu Zhuqing saw who it was.

Tang Yuan.